India's central bank unexpectedly slashes its benchmark rate for second time this year

Published Fri, May 22 20201:19 AM EDT

Key Points

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday unexpectedly slashed its key policy rate for a second time this year.

It cut the repo rate by 40 basis points to 4%.

A sign for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sign is displayed inside central bank's headquarters in Mumbai, India.

Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday unexpectedly slashed its key policy rate for a second time this year, in a move to counter the economic fallout from an ongoing nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

It cut the repo rate by 40 basis points to 4%. The reverse repo rate was also reduced by 40 basis points to 3.35%.

In a video conference, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had voted to maintain its "accommodative" stance.